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Solving Problems through Global Teamwork and Innovation
Situation
Built on concern and innovation, one multi-national agricultural company has the noble mission of increasing the world’s nutritious food supply. The organization works overtime to provide farmers with responsible pest control for disease-carrying insects.
This company has a long history of success, due in part to their thorough knowledge of the market and their process excellence. However, a few years ago, they noticed a disconnect in the market that their normal procedures couldn’t solve. With population growth and disposable income on the rise, the demand for grain was increasing. Tillable land, however, was steadily decreasing. Producing more with less would take more than hard work; it would take significant innovation in pest control.
The company decided to take action by implementing a Global Business Effectiveness Initiative. This would call for the creation of high-level, cross-functional teams with members from around the world working together fluidly as single units. Though the company had used teams in the past, this new initiative would raise the bar for team performance.
Challenges
The company needed to train employees all around the world within a short amount of time. To make an initiative of this scale work, executives knew that a number of criteria had to be met. In addition to local staff being on board with the initiative, the program had to be:
- Easy to adopt.
- Flexible enough to work for multiple audiences with different development needs.
- Easily applied to real work. (Teach strategies, not just concepts.)
Solution
In order to accomplish all of this, executives looked to The TRACOM Group, a workplace performance company. Drawing from over 50 years of experience, TRACOM created a custom team program aimed at fostering successful global business innovation. The program was formed around their time-tested for interpersonal effectiveness and team performance, customized to maximize impact for the company’s specific goals.
“TRACOM’s ability to customize and willingness to change is key,” said one company training executive. “(They) have a very personal touch in addition to a solid model.”
The company chose to integrate the new team program into their existing management process for easy adoption. The program began with a seven-hour overview called “Understanding Team Performance.” During this session, intact teams underwent thorough assessments. Based on their “diagnosis,” each team would choose its next step for development. These additional steps were packaged in a “bite-sized” four-hour modules, which included both team concept theory and practical application to the team’s issues. These “short bursts” of learning allowed for minimal disruption and immediate application.
The modules were facilitated by an external team coach with no authority over the team. The coach was responsible for the development aspect, and had to give approve of team progress before passing them to the next module.
Results
Since the program’s inception, over 1,000 employees have been developed into effective global team members. Where modules where completed, the company claims measurable performance improvement. Additionally, the company found that the tools in each module make integration of new members faster and more effective, allowing for sustain high levels of performance even during periods of turnover.
Thanks to the TRACOM program, the company now calls “teams” one of their four “centers of expertise” in their global quality function. The company plans to continue increasing the use of TRACOM team performance skills and processes.
“We seek partners, not products,” said a company executive. “TRACOM has demonstrated integrity as a partner.”
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